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City police call recent spike in violence 'alarming'

Baltimore City police to dedicate additional resources to problem areas

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Updated: 9:43 AM EDT Mar 20, 2013

City police call recent spike in violence 'alarming'

Baltimore City police to dedicate additional resources to problem areas

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Updated: 9:43 AM EDT Mar 20, 2013

BALTIMORE —

A Baltimore City police commander on Tuesday called a spike in recent violence alarming, and now a City Council committee is looking for answers as to how to fix the problem.

Several city police commanders were called to a City Council oversight hearing on Tuesday, where council members said they were concerned about a return to the days of what was known as the "wild wild west," I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller said.

Eight people have been killed in Baltimore since Sunday, mostly in the western part of the city, where 14 homicides have been recorded so far this year.

A small army of police and medics were called just after 9 a.m. Tuesday to a row house on North Fulton Avenue, where two women and one man were shot to death, police said. The incident happened in broad daylight in a house along a well-traveled street, Miller said.

The three killings bring the city's homicide toll this year to 45, which is 37 percent higher than the homicides recorded over the same time last year, statistics show.

"The violence in the western district is alarming right now for us," said Col. Garnell Green, the chief of neighborhood patrols in the area.

Police said they blame the usual suspects -- gangs and drugs -- and immediately promised to shuffle resources. They had shifted one unit to night work in the western district to combat violence during that time, but with the morning triple fatal shooting, that unit is going back to work during the day, police said.

Starting Friday, a new class of trainees will also start walking foot patrols there.

Police Commissioner Anthony Batts talked at the meeting about building stronger police relationships with community members that include more than just knocking on doors. He said although more resources might be a short-term solution, stabilizing the western district -- particularly with jobs and employed, educated residents -- is an essential long-term solution.

"We just cannot lose the progress we have made over the last couple of years," said City Councilman Brandon Scott, who called police commanders to the oversight hearing. Scott said the meeting was planned months ago but just happened to come on the same day as the triple shooting.

Scott said he worries police left some communities exposed when they shifted extra resources to cover St. Patrick's Day partying. Over the past week, the city's put extra resources on the east side, while the west side is seeing the spike.

"What are we doing on the one side of town that we aren't doing on the other? The east side of town has been very quiet. The west side of town seem to have a lot more issues right now," Scott said.

He said it's about learning the police plans for improvement and ensuring that they're working.

"People are dying in this city, and we want to know they have a handle on that, but also that they're looking at the big picture of how they can work on these issues beforehand and that it's done in a matter that benefits the citizens," Scott said.

While homicides in the city may be up 37 percent from last year, police said overall violent crime is down by 6 percent, and gun arrests are up by 34 percent.